


It's too Late Now

by Xeon_52



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Eventual Romance, Multi, Original Fiction, Personal interpretation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-15 17:47:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13618491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xeon_52/pseuds/Xeon_52
Summary: They had received a distress signal from Earth, how long it took to reach them, or how long it had even been active was irrelevant. All that mattered to the team was returning home. Although some were more anxious than others, and varying opinions on what was happening were certainly present. Though, upon their arrival, everyone was surprised by what they saw. How long had they been gone? Also, why did the new commander of the Garrison seem so familiar?





	1. The Return Home

**Author's Note:**

> \- This is my first ever fic so please be kind and patient  
> \- Personal Interpretation of characters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is so bad but bare with me pls, I was so tired while typing this and I'll probably, maybe revise it later

Everyone was in the ship, all exhausted from the most recent battle with the Galra. All, except Lotor of course, who had decided it was best if he did not partake in this particular battle.

He had been with the team for quite some time now, and while he had taken a liking to Keith due to his Galran side, everyone was still wary of his presence, especially Lance. Lance had left to go make milkshakes, but upon returning he observed the pale faces of his teammates and looked around with confusion, before allowing his eyes to look up at the screen on the ship's monitor. Pidge's new allgorithm had located a distress signal from a planet galaxies away from their current position. Though, the planet it was coming from was...Earth. Lance had almost dropped his tray of milkshakes as he ran towards the monitor, as if getting closer would magically change what he was seeing. He was looking frantically between the monitor and the rest of his teammates.  
"Come on guys.." he said with a pleading, almost disbelieving tone in his voice.  
"This can't be real...can it?....Pidge?" Lance continued, looking at his teammate for some kind of answer to put him at ease. 

Once Pidge

had snapped out of her daze she started typing away furiously. Decoding the distress signal with ease, the only thing written being "HELP"

Lance slammed his hand down on the table  
"We have to go!" 

Keith, who had recently returned from a mission of his own stood a few feet from Lance, his arms crossed as he was contemplating before shaking his head  
"No. We can't go. What if this is all just a trap set up by the Galra? Lure us to our home planet, get our guard down, then end us right there and then." 

Lance gave Keith an expression of disbelief  
"Really Keith? This is our Home we're talking about! We have to go and help!" 

Keith shook his head "I still think it's too risky."

"Well what do you think Allura?" Lance asked as he turned to the princess for help. Allura thought for a moment before replying 

"If it were Altea, Coran and I would certainly want to go help, but we have to be cautious Lance, what Keith said is a possibility after all." Lance nodded and looked towards his other teammates 

"What about you guys?" The others looked at each other before speaking 

"I would like to see home again..." Hunk said 

"I could show the Garrison all the advancements in technology we found!" Pidge added 

"It is our home planet, and we help planets under Galran rule all the time, it's our duty." Shiro finished.  
.  
Keith clearly saw that he was outnumbered but still held his suspicions. 

\--------

"So, what do you think is happening over there?" Pidge asked  
"Is it really under Galran control? Do you think they captured or tortured people because we're paladins of Voltron? Or maybe-"

"PIDGE" Shiro intervened  
"Let's not jump to conclusions, we have no idea what's going on or for how long, all we can do is hope for the best."

Pidge quited down, but it was clear everyone was on edge, even Allura and Coran. All that was left now was to wait. 

\--------

The ship landed, and the paladins came off the ship, Coran, Allura, and Lotor staying behind. Once they were off the ship they were greeted by different aliens all in uniform, and pointing guns at them. One, who seemed to be the leader started speaking in a language the paladins didn't understand, until a human came up and placed a hand on the alien's shoulder  
"It's alright Gareth, the commander is on the way." Gareth nodded and stepped back  
"Very well Captain Luke." 

The man who was now known as Luke had golden brown hair, fair skin, and emerald green eyes. He smiled at Shiro and shook his hand  
"Sorry about that, precautions y'know?"  
Shiro didn't hide the confusion on his face, but Luke ignored it, instead making way for a young woman. She had long, wavy, chesnut brown hair, dark eyes, and a tan complexion. Her hair was up in a ponytail and her facial expression made it seem like she clearly had better things to do. Once she stopped in front of them she smirked 

"So it's true, the wayward children have returned."


	2. How long have we been gone?

It was clear how confused the paladins were, by this time, Coran, Allura, and Lotor had also descended from the ship. The woman in charge seemed to study them for a few moments before looking back to Shiro. He took a step forward 

“I’m sorry, we received a distress signal...?” 

The woman looked confused for a moment, before looking back at the man named Luke 

“Captain, do you recall the last time we sent out a distress signal?” 

With one push of a button on his lapel, Captain Luke nodded

and another individual came from the Garrison. It was a male, an older gentleman, around his thirties, lanky, and tall with light blonde hair paired with light brown eyes.

He was wearing a lab coat, but seemed to be in dissary, as if he was just pulled away from very important work. Carrying stacks of documents, he finally stood in front of the woman, saluting her. 

She smiled warmly at the other man “At ease Dr. Drake, do you have the files?” 

Dr. Drake fumbled with the multiple documents he was carrying, dropping a few before handing her one single transcript. She scrunched her nose in dissaproval as she examined it, before looking at Shiro.  
“Well, it seems we did send a distress signal out, but that was over four years ago. As you can see, everything is quite handled now Mr. Shirogane.”

Shiro looked even more confused, stepping forward slightly 

“Wait, how did you-“ 

“Know your name?”  
The woman finished for him. She crossed her arms over her chest

“It’s my duty as Commander to know the whereabouts of everyone under Garrison protection...even the missing ones”  
as she said this, her eyes traveled to the rest of the crew, before returning to Shiro. 

“You’ve been gone quite some time Takahashi-“  
“How long exactly?”  
piped Lance as he stepped forward, his words causing the commander to freeze momentarily before speaking once more.  
“10 years, Mr. McClain.”  
Lance backed away from her in shock, along with the other paladins.  
Lance was the first to react, grabbing the woman by the shoulders  
“If you’re the commander, you know where my family is, don’t you? Where are they?!”  
Other soldiers were zeroing in on Lance, but Keith pulled him away before they could do anything.  
The woman took a deep breath, but smiled nonetheless  
“I know you all must have questions, and my team will happily answer all of them for you. But for now, I do ask that we move back to the Garrison and that you put your lionesses in park.” Without waiting for a response, the woman turned around and started heading for the Garrison.

***********  
(Keith's POV)

Walking around the Garrison was strange. Not in the nostalgic sort of way I'm sure the others were feeling, but more of an alien sort of strange.....Actually, maybe I should take back that nostalgic statement, the others were probably feeling the same alien-like sensation I was, and not just because of the vast array of aliens walking around. The Garrison itself seemed completely remodeled. While it retained its orange and charcoal scheme, so many technological advancements were made, it was bewildering. I glanced over at Pidge who's eyes were aglow with wonder. I rolled my eyes, typical Pidge. Looking around though,

I noticed the alien from earlier, the one Luke called 'Gareth'. I wasn't paying much attention earlier, but looking at him now I realized he was galran, or, at least, half galran. It was hard to tell, his skin tone was a mix between lavender and periwinkle, with white runic looking tattoos going up his arms. His build was strong, complimented by a firm jaw, and piercing amber eyes. What really set him apart though was his hair, navy blue, reaching his waist and put in the most elegant french braid I'd ever seen (although I haven't seen many, maybe on the princess once). Apart from the loose hair that was escaping it from the top, but it framed his face very well. What confused me though was the language he spoke in earlier, it clearly wasn't galran, I'd heard it enough times to know, So, what was he speaking? This is when Gareth looked over at me, he adjusted his blaster and regarded me calmly, nodding his head ever so slightly. That was enough to put me on edge as I turned away. Did he know I was Galran? I looked at my hands just to make sure I wasn't turning a shade of purple before sighing, rationalizing that I was just being paranoid.

It was then I realized the commander girl was talking. I would've called her commander lady, but she didn't seem older than Pidge, a year or so, at most. From this distance you could just barely make out the freckles across her nose and cheeks as if someone had strewn flecks of gold upon them. It was difficult to tell, but it seemed that her eyes also had golden flecks within their otherwise dark chocolate irises. Her skin, I noticed, was the same shade as Lance's, but bronzer, more golden, as if she were basking in the sun at this very moment. Her hair flowed behind her effortlessly, even though it was pulled up in a ponytail, it failed to contain the waves and subtle curls of her hair's texture, reaching just below her mid-back, making me wonder what its full length would be when she let it down. She was very pretty, I wondered why Lance hadn't yet tried to flirt with her, I looked over at him, expecting him to be at least gawking at her, probably being restrained by Pidge and Hunk.

When I saw him though, it was a much different scene than what I had expected.

Lance seemed distraught, probably worrying about the state of his family that he had left behind. Though he was staring at the back of commander girl's head like he was trying to solve the most difficult mathematical equation known to man. Although, I seem to recall telling him to leave the math to Pidge. He was muttering to himself like a crazed neurophysicist, saying the word 'Nova' on repeat. I slowed, walking in step with Pidge and leaned over, whispering 

"what's his deal?" Pidge waved it off like it was old news 

"he's just repeating the commander's name, probably so he doesn't accidentally call her something else when he tries to flirt with her later." After answering me, Pidge went back to gazing at all the technology, slowing making her way to Dr.Drake, most likely with the intent of finding out all the inner workings of every piece of technology within the Garrison. I was content with her answer though, so I shrugged off Lance's strange behavior and sped up to my previous pace, just a few steps behind Commander Nova and Shiro, who were in currently in a very one sided conversation. Shiro firing off questions, and Nova, quickly, but politely answering them. 

"So you say we've been gone ten years?"

"Yes"

"So, why the distress signal? When did you first send it out? Why?" 

"The first distress signal was sent about six months after you all first left. The Galra had came and took control, rebellion rose quickly though, we were free within two years. The most recent one from four years ago, was because we were attacked by the Galra, many lives were lost, many taken prisoner...but we've moved past all of that as you can see."

"So why the Galra? All the other aliens? When did they come? Why do you trust them?"

"The first Galra came with the take over, they helped humans rebel, and welcomed because of that. Once news of our victory against the Galra spread, other aliens came, seeking refuge, which we provided. After the second attack by Galra had passed, and we had yet another victory against them, even more aliens came flocking, rouge Galra, and aliens in cahoots with the Blade of Mamora as well. As for why we trust and welcome them, is because there are good and bad humans as well, you can not persecute an entire race, for an injustice done by the few." 

After this I zoned out their conversation, Shiro was asking too many questions and if I really wanted to find something out I could always ask the commander later. Or go out and find the answer for myself. 

I stumbled back a few steps, something had crashed into me, looking down, my eyes went wide. It was a little boy, no older than four. He had fair skin, bright hazel eyes, and a shock of messy blonde hair. What surprised me though were the eggplant hued ears that sprouted from his hair, along with the eggplant patch of skin the covered the right side of his face, making that hazel eye seem even brighter. A woman came running after him, she had the same blonde hair and fair skin as her son, but blue eyes instead of hazel. That was when I spotted who must've been the father, a lean galran man, his skin a deep wine color, short black hair, combed cleanly back, but his hazel eyes just as bright. The woman picked up her son and handed him to his father, who took him proudly. The boy copying the mesmerizing swaying motion of his father's tail with his own as he spoke energetically to his father, who just smiled warmly at his son. The woman touched my arm softly, snapping me out of my daze 

"I'm so sorry" she repeated profusely, her bell like voice, fluttering like a bird 

"My son is just getting the hang of his shapeshifting between human and glara forms, and he just wants to show Everyone. I don't know why, but he was just drawn to you, insisted that he had to show his 'older brother' that he could finally shapeshift." She threw her arms up, in a sort of 'Kids. They say the wildest things, what're gonna do?' kind of motion. I blinked at her, at a complete loss of words before finally speaking 

"What're your names?" I finally asked. The woman's eyes lit up as she grabbed my arm as if to say 'Of Course! How rude of me!' She led me to her son and what I'm still assuming is the son's father. 

"This is my husband Almus, he is a platoon leader here at the Garrison. I am Lydia, I work the coms for our intergalactic transmissions and signals. And this," She said far more happily as she grabbed her son's hand 

"Is our son Chase, who is going to pick a form so he stops scaring the Garrison's guests" Her son laughed so sweetly, Keith couldn't help the feeling of warmth that bloomed in his chest. He obeyed his mother's wishes though and retracted his ears and tail, going back to his human form. She smiled and Chase's face lit up as he saw another galran-human child come into view, via Lance's arms. He still seemed slightly distraught but much more content with the child in his arms. The little girl was around five years old, ebony skin, with coily black hair, and heterochromic eyes, one emerald green, the other so amber it was almost yellow. She freely let her magenta Galra ears show, as she coiled her tail around Lance's right forearm as he held her. 

"Anastasia!" beamed Chase, although, with how young he was it came out more like "Anastisha!" The little girl smiled warmly at the boy and waved 

"Hi Chay" she replied. Lance smirked lightly, as he shifted the little girl on his hip, he looked over at me 

"Hey Keith, Commander Nova says she's gonna show us to some guest barracks, we're rooming, that good with you?" He asked. I was honestly still a bit shaken by the human-galran children in my presence but I nodded anyway 

"Yeah, yeah, that's cool." I replied 

"Alright, let's go." he said, Lydia came closer to us 

"Here Sweetie, let me take her so you two can get settled in before dinner."

Lance smiled and thanked her before handing Anastasia over. He led me toward our guest barracks with a hand on the small of my back, as if, without needing to be told he already knew how rattled I was. Unknown to us, Almus and Lydia watched us leave, a faint smirk on both of their faces as they gazed at us and then each other. As if they had just came upon a revelation in a secret group to which only they were apart of, so far. Then the promptly left, the two children in their arms as they prepared themselves for dinner later that evening. Once we reached our shared barrack, Lance and I sat on our beds, that sat across from each other, he let a few moments of silence pass before looking up at me. 

"They're like you." 

he finally said, yeah. As if that needed to be pointed out, but I merely nodded, still out of my wits. Lance gripped the bed a little harder before a breathy chuckle escaped his lips 

"We've only been gone ten years, but looking around at this place, it makes you wonder how long we've really been gone huh?" 

That statement is what brought me back, and I smirked, looking up at him 

"Didn't I tell you to leave the math to Pidge?" I said, and he laughed, getting up. 

"That's true." he said 

"Now get up mullet, we gotta look presentable for the hotties at dinner tonight." I rolled my eyes and thought to myself 'There's the Lance I know.'


End file.
